The basic approach is to establish molecular-structural and structural-functional correlations, under the premise that structure can be best understood by observing its changes following specific molecular perturbations, and that function cannot be fully modeled without knowledge of the underlying structure. Past and planned projects in which changes in structural parameters due to perturbation of protein expression relate to the functional effects of the same perturbation offer examples of such correlations. A second approach, which was initiated with the current funding is to relate phylogeny with structure and protein expression in the critical transition from low chordates to vertebrates.